2008 Woodie Awards
Con: Show the smaller clubs some good lovin'.
Kyle Drennen '07
Issue date: 10/12/06 Section: Commentary
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A couple weeks ago, Student Congress allocated money to the student clubs and organizations for the year. This funding is generally considered seed money to help get clubs going at the beginning of year with their first few events. The expectation is that throughout the rest of the year, these clubs will do fundraising activities to provide for additional events. However, one of the largest student organizations on campus, the Board of Programers (BOP), does not appear to be held to this same standard, as it is nearly fully funded by allocation funds.
BOP received $170,500 this year in Student Congress allocations. That is more than twice the amount for Commencement, which received $82,000. It is also nearly seven times as much as the $25,000 given to the Student-Activities-Involvement Leadership(S.A.I.L.) office, WDOM, Veritas, and the Campus Ministry Center combined. Finally, it is well over 1,000 times more money than what was given to Colleges Against Cancer, which raises tens of thousands of dollars for cancer research each year.
By bringing up these various student organizations, I do not claim to speak for them. Maybe they are all perfectly happy with the funding they received, or maybe they are able to receive funding by other means outside Student Congress. However, when a single student organization is getting far greater funding than any other single club, or group of clubs (BOP received nearly half of the $361,000 given out to all 41 clubs), it is time for some basic financial accountability.
I do not want to attack anyone, including BOP and Student Congress. I think both organizations provide numerous events and services to the student body. Despite this, I do think that given the chance, several of the smaller organizations on campus could provide many positive services to students as well. The issue is not who deserves what, but rather the process by which this is determined.
Year after year, BOP seems to get the same amount of money, which is far greater than any other organization. Considering that funding for most other organizations can change significantly from year to year, why does BOP always receive the most? There can only be two reasons for this: Either Student Congress does not really have that much authority over how the money is being spent or they are unwilling to seriously reconsider how the money is distributed. If Student Congress does not have the authority to significantly change the breakdown of funding, it has to be open about that. Yet, if it simply gives the same amount to BOP every year because that is what has always been done, then it is not taking the allocation process seriously enough.
BOP received $170,500 this year in Student Congress allocations. That is more than twice the amount for Commencement, which received $82,000. It is also nearly seven times as much as the $25,000 given to the Student-Activities-Involvement Leadership(S.A.I.L.) office, WDOM, Veritas, and the Campus Ministry Center combined. Finally, it is well over 1,000 times more money than what was given to Colleges Against Cancer, which raises tens of thousands of dollars for cancer research each year.
By bringing up these various student organizations, I do not claim to speak for them. Maybe they are all perfectly happy with the funding they received, or maybe they are able to receive funding by other means outside Student Congress. However, when a single student organization is getting far greater funding than any other single club, or group of clubs (BOP received nearly half of the $361,000 given out to all 41 clubs), it is time for some basic financial accountability.
I do not want to attack anyone, including BOP and Student Congress. I think both organizations provide numerous events and services to the student body. Despite this, I do think that given the chance, several of the smaller organizations on campus could provide many positive services to students as well. The issue is not who deserves what, but rather the process by which this is determined.
Year after year, BOP seems to get the same amount of money, which is far greater than any other organization. Considering that funding for most other organizations can change significantly from year to year, why does BOP always receive the most? There can only be two reasons for this: Either Student Congress does not really have that much authority over how the money is being spent or they are unwilling to seriously reconsider how the money is distributed. If Student Congress does not have the authority to significantly change the breakdown of funding, it has to be open about that. Yet, if it simply gives the same amount to BOP every year because that is what has always been done, then it is not taking the allocation process seriously enough.